Today, House Republicans will begin floor debate on the FY24 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. This bill de-weaponizes Joe Biden’s federal government by preventing the IRS from targeting Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights along with slashing funding for Biden’s army of IRS agents. 

The FY24 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act also prevents federal funds for abortions, puberty blockers, and gender reassignment surgery in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), while also reining in Washington’s reckless spending, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, promoting economic growth, and protecting small businesses.

FACTS ABOUT THE FY24 FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT (Courtesy of House Appropriations Republicans):

Cuts to Wasteful Spending 

• Reduces funding for 31 unauthorized accounts, saving $64 million.

• Holds numerous agencies at or below the FY22 enacted level.

• Eliminates funding for Election Security Grants and rejects the President’s Budget Request for $300 million in grants.

• Rejects unreasonable mandatory program proposals, including:

  • $29 billion for a two-year extension of IRS Inflation Reduction Act funding for Enforcement and Operations Support.

• $5 billion in mandatory Election Security Grant funding over 10 years; and

• $10 billion to create a new revolving fund at the General Services Administration (GSA) to finance large-dollar federal capital projects, including $3.5 billion for a new, suburban Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters.

• Prevents the Small Business Administration (SBA) from funding climate initiatives or the Community Navigator Pilot Program established under the American Rescue Plan.

• Eliminates funding for GSA’s Technology Modernization Fund.

Claw-backs of Prior Appropriations

• Rescinds wasteful Democrat spending for a supercharged army of 85,000 IRS agents and their associated payroll systems.

• Pulls back funding from GSA to convert federal buildings into high-performance “green” buildings or test beds for clean energy innovation.

Supports Values

• Retains crucial prohibitions on federal funds for abortions in the FEHBP.

• Prohibits federal funds for FEHBP to cover the cost of surgical procedures or puberty blockers or hormone therapy for gender affirming care.

• Continues to prohibit the District of Columbia (D.C.) from using funds for abortions and rejects the President’s proposal to allow local funds for abortion.

• Includes a new reporting requirement to oversee D.C.’s enforcement of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.

• Prohibits funding for D.C. to carry out the Reproductive Health Nondiscrimination Act (RHNDA) of 2014.

• Repeals D.C.’s assisted suicide legalization law.

• Bans the D.C. needle exchange program.

• Retains the conscience clause on any D.C. contraceptive requirement.

• Protects Americans against religious discrimination related to their views on marriage.

• Prohibits implementation of the Biden Administration’s executive orders on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

• Prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance Critical Race Theory.

De-weaponizes the Federal Government

• Continues to prevent the IRS from targeting individuals for exercising their First Amendment rights.

• Continues three long-standing provisions related to protecting Americans’ rights to make political contributions without government interference.

• Prevents non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

• Prohibits funds from being used for censorship or “disinformation” efforts.

• Prevents implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14019, related to voting access and turnout, except for overseas citizens/military, tribes, and disabled individuals.

• Continues provisions making it illegal for government officials to lobby Congress or to prevent other federal employees from responding to Congressional inquiries.

• Includes new language prohibiting funds for federal employees’ salaries if they unjustifiably refuse to comply with a valid Congressional subpoena.

Counters China and Other Adversaries

• Rejects funding to block U.S. investors from taking over Chinese companies under the Treasury’s outbound investment review process.

• Prohibits the support, directly or indirectly, of the Wuhan Institute of Virology or any laboratory owned or controlled by the People’s Republic of China.

• Requires GSA to report on the status of Chinese technology and equipment on federal property or privately-owned buildings with federal leases.

• Prohibits funds for Cuba person-to-person travel, which provides currency to the Cuban dictatorship and harms the Cuban people’s struggle for basic human rights and liberties.

Reduces Burdensome, Costly Regulations

• Prohibits funds to finalize or enforce numerous SEC rules, including the Climate Disclosure rule related to Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) criteria.

• Prohibits funding for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to promulgate the beneficial ownership reporting rules that do not reflect Congressional intent.

• Prohibits funds to carry out the Federal Clean Electricity and Vehicle Procurement Strategy under E.O. 14008 until a stable supply of domestic-mined criterial minerals can be achieved.

• Prohibits funds for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to charge good credit borrowers with higher fees on their home loan.

• Rejects the President’s unrealistic compliance proposal intended to prevent D.C. private schools from participating in the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) program.

• Prohibits the D.C. government’s automated traffic enforcement and future efforts to disallow right turns at red lights.

• Prohibits the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from finalizing regulations limiting consumer choice for off-road recreational vehicles and gas stoves.

• Prohibits the FTC from implementing and enforcing the burdensome Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation rule.

Eliminates Waste and Abuse in Government

• Penalizes the Administration when the President’s Budget is delayed.

• Prohibits funds for each agency until they reinstate telework policies, practices, and levels in effect on December 31, 2019.

• Prevents bonuses and promotions at Treasury until the Administration fully accounts for unobligated balances related to COVID-19 funding.

• Eliminates funding for Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) because insurance already is regulated successfully by states.

• Prohibits funding for procurement of electric vehicles and associated infrastructure for agencies under the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction.

• Prohibits recruiting or hiring, promoting or retaining personnel convicted of child pornography or sexual assault charges.

• Eliminates the ability of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to waive Administrative Pay-As-You-Go Act (PAYGO) of 2023 requirements.